


Greatest Love Story

by arabiannight



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Ages Altered, F/M, Like really altered, Modern Setting, high school romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-17
Updated: 2019-09-20
Packaged: 2020-09-08 02:13:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 22,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20277610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arabiannight/pseuds/arabiannight
Summary: Jaime Lannister is a senior of King's Landing High, typical trouble maker football jock who spends his time having a good time and setting the town ablaze with his parties. He's the most popular boy in the high school, and has every girl practically falling into his lap, but he only has eyes for one girl that he views as 'unattainable'. Sansa Stark. Valedictorian of the class. Sweet and as law abiding as they come. But, sometimes, fate makes funny connections.





	1. All American Girl

**Author's Note:**

> A little plot bunny that came into my head after hearing the country song 'Greatest Love Story' by LANCO as it came across my Spotify playlist. Everything is pretty much majorly altered to fit the timeline, mainly Jaime and Sansa being the same age.

To anyone who was looking into the life of Jaime Lannister, they would say that he had it all. Good looks, impeccable family, head of the high school football team. He had the world at his feet and all he had to do was grab onto it and fly. _His father must beam with pride_, they would comment. 

Tywin Lannister did the last thing from _beam_ with pride. Sure, he was proud of the star high school athlete his son was. He saw college football scholarships coming his way. If he could only stay focused enough to stay out of trouble. No, all Tywin saw in his eldest was a troublemaker. A boy who liked to stay out past curfew and throw parties by bonfire at the beach that bordered their home with his twin sister. What a cruel joke of the gods that his most academically gifted child, the one that seemed to bee poised to one day take over the Lannister name, was the dwarf child that had claimed the life of his wife upon his entering of this world. Tyrion, even as a freshman in high school, already seemed to be more intelligent than both his older siblings combined. He had even caught the boy completing Jaime's math homework. The boy never had had a penchant for numbers. 

During his Friday night bonfires that he hosted with Cersei, he found that all of King's Landing High flooded the Lannister beach. It seemed that his path was littered with girls who dreamed of catching his eye. Cersei, head cheerleader, always seemed to approach him throughout the night with a beer in one hand and a fellow cheerleader in the other. He would entertain her for a short while, give attention to the girl for a brief while until his patience ran thin. It was then that he would quietly slip away to his car, a gift of his father for his sixteenth birthday, and drive away from the party. 

He wouldn't stop until he got to the other side of town, stopping at the beginning of Winterfell Road and quietly idling the car. It would take a few moments but she never disappointed. Using the streetlights as her only source of light, the red headed image of Sansa Stark would come bounding to his car, giggles finally bursting from her lips as she closed the passenger side door of his car and turned to gaze at him. 

"What are you waiting for?! Go! Go!" her overjoyed voice rang through her laughter as she motioned with her hands for the car to move forward. 

He could always just chuckle and shake his head at her joy. She had once said it was like an adrenaline high, these late night 'dates'. It gave her such a rush to know that no one knew of there whereabouts, that no one knew that the valedictorian and straight A student Sansa Stark snuck out of her bedroom window in the dark cover of night, when all of the Stark household was fast asleep, to dive into the car of trouble causing, 'bad boy' Jaime Lannister. For coming on a year now, these nightly meetups had been occurring, but the joy and the rush had failed to dampen in Sansa's mind. 

Jaime would drive into the woods nearby Winterfell Road, pulling into a clearing where a river ran through. He parked the car up to the river's edge, rolling down the windows to let the flow of the water and the night sounds of the woods filter through. He turned the radio on a lowered the volume so the music waft in the background and he finally turned his body and reached out to cup his hand against Sansa's left cheek. 

He felt her lean into his touch as her cheeks spread into another wide grin. Laughter rang softly through the car as she closed the distance between them to capture his lips in a passionate kiss, reaching her hands to capture each side of Jaime's face. He returned the kiss to match the passion and enthusiasm that she put forth, gently pulling her as his hands drifted to her shoulders so that she traveled across the center of the car to move across his lap, straddling him and hovering over his lap ever so slightly. Her hands moved from his cheekbones to card through his long blonde locks, nails softly dragging across the skin of his scalp. 

After a few long moments they pulled apart for air, each resting their foreheads against the others as they caught each other's gaze. His hands traveled down to wrap around her lower back, as a soft chuckle broke through his throat. 

"As excited as every night, Stark."

She nodded, lower lip getting caught between her teeth as she played her hands across his scalp and through his hair over and over again. Shrugging softly, her face broke into a smirk. "I can't help it. The excitement rushes through me knowing that no one knows of these meetings. My family would _kill me_ if they found me sneaking out in the dead of night to spend intimate alone time with bad boy Jaime Lannister." Her gaze broke away from him then as she sat straighter as much as the car would allow, looking out the window to the river and she shrugged her shoulders. "Well, all except Arya. She would think this was just _wild._"

Her voice ended in a hearty laugh as she looked back at him to catch him nodding nonchalantly. "Of course Arya would eat this up. Her perfect, studious older sister in a secret relationship with the bad guy, trouble causing Jaime Lannister. Oh the _scandal. _Honestly, she probably wouldn't even believe it."

She shook her head as she smiled at him. "No, no way would she believe it. Wait until she eventually finds out. When it becomes public knowledge that Jaime scorned every cheerleader his twin sister threw into his lap to shack up with braniac Sansa Stark. I don't even think your father will believe it."

"He might just keel over from a heart attack. The Great Lion shocked to death by his trouble causing son choosing his exact opposite."

The future always came up in the safety and quiet of the car. During the days they would sneak glances to each other and pass secret notes in passing one another. That was the extent of their contact. But at night they would meet by the river and kiss and touch, laugh and grin. And plan. Plan for the future. They would both be graduating in the spring, a mere six months away that they knew would fly by quicker than it seemed. 

At graduation in May, when they both walked across that stage to receive their high school diplomas, they would both be eighteen. Jaime had already celebrated his eighteenth birthday two months ago and her would be just 3 days shy of Christmas next month. They both knew that Sansa would go off to college, following her dream of becoming a writer, but they had discussed that college wasn't in Jaime's plans. He knew his father wanted him to go onto higher education and follow in his footsteps, but he also knew that he would never amount to the level that Tywin Lannister was at. Numbers were just a jumbled mess and running a company relied heavily on understanding numbers. No, Jaime's dream was to go to the police academy and train to become a cop. Protecting the people of King's Landing was where he found his passion. Sansa supported the idea whole heartedly. 

The plan was, that over the summer after graduation, they would publicly announce their relationship starting with their families. They would also announce their intention to marry, sometime after Sansa got settled into college and he had graduated from the police academy. He craved the idea of spending the rest of his life with her by his side. His father and her parents would probably scold them as being foolish in youth, begging them to wait and see how the years that Sansa was at college and then as they settled into adulthood. He could practically hear all of their words in the future. 

He didn't care. Sansa had the brains and the beauty to attract anything in life. She had an open path to whatever she wanted in life. And Sansa Stark wanted _him. _

_You hide behind that bad boy facade to draw attention away from the struggles you have. The dyslexia. No one will make fun of tough football captain Jaime Lannister who throws all the Friday night bashes. _She had reasoned to him once, voiced his true thoughts deep down. Smart, beautiful Sansa Stark had seen straight through him and seen down into his core. She didn't love him for the reason that every other girl claimed to love him. Sansa loved him for the man that Jaime wanted to be. Not the man he was or would be. And he found that he craved that from her. He craved having a girl that loved him for the man he wanted to be. He needed that. 

And he hoped that they would be the greatest love story that anyone in King's Landing had ever seen. 


	2. Just a Little Too Far

The autumn winds of November changed into the brisk winter winds of December silently and covered all of the town of King’s Landing in a light dusting of snow. The commotion that seemed to hang around and follow Jaime during football season dropped off after the final game, and he hung up his jersey and football helmet after yet another successful season that brought the team to another state championship. Every victory was made even sweeter by the secret meeting with Sansa after each game, where she would meet him behind the school as he left and wrap her arms around him as he lifted her off the ground. Every victory was made more triumphant as they spent their private time each night in their spot by the river. 

As December rolled on and the weeks brought Christmas closer and closer, the town was blanketed in a thick layer of snow, and the townspeople decorated every inch of King’s Landing in every kind of Christmas decoration that there was. The town seemed to come alive with each holiday, with parties and celebrations ringing in each holiday. 

The only holiday Jaime cared about in December this year was a few days before Christmas though. It didn’t involve a big party or a bunch of people. It was that special place by the river with Sansa as company in the cover of night. This night was special, her eighteenth birthday, and Jaime had a special gift tucked into his center console just for her. 

The path to the river was always cleared of snow and it made it easy for his car to travel down the path. Though on these cold nights they kept the car running and the windows up with the heat blowing out warm air to keep the chill away. As the car was put in park, they both turned to each other, leaning over the center of the car to press their lips into a passionate kiss. His hand lifted up to cup the side of her face, which he felt Sansa lean into softly. When they pulled away from each other his heart filled to see the beaming smile of the red head before him. 

“Happy Birthday, San” he said quietly as he pecked her lips once more. He saw her move to say something, but out his hand between them to make her pause as he reached down to the center console and pulled out the red and gold wrapped present. Slowly he offered it to her and watched as her bottom lip was caught in her teeth and her brows furrowed in confusion. He motioned to the gift and gently urged for her to open it, which she did slowly. 

Pulling away the very Lannister-esque wrapping paper revealed a long velvet jewelry box. The confused expression on Sansa’s face quickly transformed as her jaw dropped and her brilliant blue eyes widened in shock. They flashed from the box back up to Jaime, and he grinned smugly. “Go ahead, open it.” 

Jaime watched as Sansa opened the top of the box, to see the golden necklace that laid within. Slowly she pulled it out, seeing the roaring lion’s head with diamonds studded in the mane, a small ruby held in its jaws. The necklace spun around and caught the light that they had turned on in the car, making the jewels glitter and gleam softly. 

“ Jaime.”  Sansa’s voice came out as a sigh as her eyes traveled to lock onto his. “You shouldn’t have. Honestly.”

Jaime only shook his head, shaking his hand at her in a negative manner. “Of course I did. Before long you’ll be a Lannister, especially if I have my way. What better way to show that than to outfit you in something so very fitting of the name.” 

As he spoke he reached out to take the necklace from Sansa’s hands, reaching behind her to clasp the necklace on underneath her long red hair. It hung over her scarf, but he knew just from the looks of it that the size was perfect, it would be just long enough to tuck underneath clothing and never be seen by the public eye if need be. Jaime leaned back, taking in the sight of the necklace as Sansa reached to hold it in her fingers. 

“Looks beautiful.”

As he spoke, Sansa suddenly dropped the necklace and let her fall against her chest, moving as fast across the center of the car as she could to situate herself on his lap, both hands cupping each side of his face as she leaned down to capture his lips in a passionate kiss. His own hands went to her hips to hold her firmly in place as he returned the kiss, a moan from each of their throats meeting in the quiet of the car. 

Sansa was the first to break the kiss, pulling away to rest her forehead against Jaime’s and pepper small and light kisses across his lips as a large smile broke across her face. “Jaime, I can’t wait until we can tell the world about us.” And they would, soon. He knew they would. When they felt as though both their families would take it calmly and allow them to live their lives, when they were both adults who had high school diplomas. “When we are masters of our own destiny. We’ll flaunt  us  to the world.” 

Sansa nodded in reply, her hands falling to wrap around his neck as her head buried into his neck in a tight hug. Jaime dipped his head down into her long red hair, breathing in the scent that was so very  her.  He wished he could bottle it up and keep it so whenever they were apart, he would have that smell to remind him of her. 

***************

They stayed like that for as long as they comfortably could, before they knew that they both needed to head back home before they alerted anyone to their empty beds. He dropped her off at the end of her road, and watched as she tucked the necklace underneath her layers of clothing and trekked to her home. After he knew she was safely in her home, he made his way across town and stealthily climbed into the window of his room, falling onto the bed and letting his back fall so his head rested against his pillows. A large grin broke across his face as he looked up at the ceiling, allowing the memory of tonight’s time with Sansa to play through his mind. 

He never noticed the presence of another form in his room, sitting in the chair at the desk in the corner until the voice rang through and broke him out of his memories. “So, tell me, did Sansa Stark enjoy her birthday gift? I’m truly disappointed, Jaime, I thought the necklace would have looked  gorgeous  around my neck.” 

Jaime could hear the pout in his twin’s voice without even lifting his head up to look at her, and it only made him roll his eyes. Although, as if by delay, her words finally registered in his head and he shot up with an accusing look to his face. “Cersei. How do you know who I was with?” 

His twin only rolled her eyes, leaning back in the chair and letting her hand fly about in a rather disinterested manner. “Really, Jaime? I may be your twin but I do like to think I got the beauty  and  the brains.” Jaime could only cast her a look that told her to get on with it, Cersei rolled her eyes as she continued. “Class president Sansa Stark, who I don’t think has set foot on the football field of the school since starting high school, suddenly starts not only showing up to the games with her endless army of siblings and that cousin of hers, but also cheers along to every goal scored by our team.” A shocked look crosses her face momentarily as she gasps and shakes a finger at him. “ Specifically  when the goal is scored by a certain Jaime Lannister.”

He had to save this, somehow and someway. Cersei was one of the  last  people that needed to know of their relationship. Behind only the Stark parents. 

Pretending to be disinterested, Jaime shrugged his shoulders as he fell back onto the bed. “Maybe she has a sudden interest in sports. Her older brother was quite the sports player when he was in high school.”

Her laugh rang through and told Jaime that she knew he was full of shit. _Fuck,_ the inner voice rang through as a chant in his mind as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. 

“See, that would almost be believable if  anyone  saw her leave with her siblings. But no one, and I mean _no one_ , saw her with the group of Stark children. She seemed to just dissolve into the air. And what is really troubling is that you seemed to dissolve with her. Only to pop back up hours later in your room. Really, Jaime, you must be stupid to think you can pull one on me. We shared the womb, for Gods sakes.”

He has to clench his jaw and hold himself back from saying something that he would surely regret. Taking a pause, he reigned himself in before he spoke, putting out a hand as if to placate a rabid animal. _A snarling, cornered lioness, maybe. _His mind filled in for him. 

“Cersei, you can’t speak of this to anyone. Not a single soul.”

His sister dared to look offended at that, her hand coming up to her chest as she made a look of hurt cross her face. The look lasted all of a minute before she became disinterested again. “Really, I don’t know why you’re being so secretive about this. Father would be _ecstatic _to know that not only is his precious Oldest son dating the class valedictorian, but also the oldest daughter of his direct company rival.” She shook a finger at him, lips curving into a sly smirk, “And all along he thought you had no interest at all in the future of his company.” 

Jaime couldn’t help but admit that Tywin Lannister _would _be nonplussed to hear of his relationship with Sansa, but he also knew that Ned Stark would be far from happy about it. The Starks has been in a battle for years with the Lannister’s. Their companies, both successful real estate firms that often found themselves in open battle over property. He was sure, just as Sansa was, that the honorable Ned Stark would probably die of a heart attack at the knowledge of Sansa hooking up with a Lannister. Even a Lannister that wanted nothing to do with his father’s company. 

Scrubbing his hands over his face, he let out an exasperated sigh before sitting back up to lock eyes with Cersei. Pointing a finger at her, Jaime shot her the best warning glance he could. 

“This is for me and Sansa to figure out and deal with. Not you, Cersei. I mean it.” 

Cersei put both hands up in surrender, eyebrows shooting up in a look of mild irritation as she rose from the chair, walking by him and heading for the door. As her hand wrapped around the doorknob she cast a look back at him over her shoulder. 

“Good luck, brother dear. I don’t see a girl of Sansa Starks intelligence and sense of family duty sticking around someone like you for too long.” 

With her parting words she left his room and all Jaime could do was slump down down into his head, letting a large exhale leave his body. 

Maybe she was right, but he was going to do everything in his power to keep Sansa Stark by his side. Come hell or high water he was going to marry that girl. 


	3. Be Your Forever

Winter gave way to spring, and before they knew it the dense snow cover cleared away to green grass and budding flowers, the birds returned to chirping away and building their nests, and life returned anew. The school year passed by quicker than they knew it, Jaime keeping one tentative eye on Cersei the whole time. Her words from the night of Sansa’s birthday ran through his mind, her laughter like a burn in his memory. He knew his twin. She was planning something, and it was only a matter of time before she let it loose. 

He chose to keep the conversation with Cersei a secret from Sansa. As the year progressed and it came time for her to apply for colleges, and him to the police academy, the decision to keep his sister’s treachery a secret was only solidified. He caught Cersei casting taunting glances his way whenever they passed Sansa, a conniving smirk here or a well placed shake of the head there, and his stomach would tense into a knot every time. Instead, he supported Sansa as she stressed over applications and the decision of which schools to apply to. He knew she had the grades to go to any school she ever wanted to. They would all trip over each other to get her in their doors. 

Come springtime, his thoughts were proven right. Each college that she applied to sent her back an approval, and each one that came into her mailbox was soon rested on Jaime’s lap on their nightly meetings, a big grin gracing Sansa’s lips. Jaime himself had been accepted into the police academy and, much to Tywin Lannister’s chagrin, would be departing come fall. 

Sansa eventually chose to go to Boston University. The journalism major there was one of the best ones in the pile of colleges she had to choose from and, the night she told him, she told him about the distance. It was hours away. Jaime only reached over and gently squeezed her thigh, grinning confidently and promising that he would visit. 

Graduation came and went, the week following being swept up in party after party. That week Jaime and Sansa saw little of each other, much too busy with prior engagements to sneak some time in for each other. That first night that they had available, they eagerly met and drove to their spot at the river, perhaps a little too early than usual but they were both confident that no one would notice.

Those were always the famous last words.

After a few hours, where they talked about plans for the future and just when they would tell everyone of their relationship, they decided to part for the night. Sansa was the one to decide to sit until the end of summer, use the high that her parents would have at seeing their daughter going off to a successful college to cushion the idea of her and Jaime together. Jaime, swallowing the need and want to broadcast to the world tonight that he loved Sansa Stark, quietly agreed. Giving her one final kiss goodnight, he watched as she sprinted down the road to her home and finally pulled towards his own home when he knew she was safely inside.

He didn’t make it too far, only a few streets away from the Stark house, when his phone began to ring with Sansa’s number lit up on the screen. With furrowed brow, Jaime quickly answered the phone. Sansa’s voice was laced with worry as he picked up.

“_Jaime, my parents aren’t here. Robb either.”_

He became the voice of reason as he continued on his way to his house. “Sansa it’s fine. They probably just had some business to attend to with the company.” 

Jaime knew that Sansa’s eldest brother, Robb, was moving up in the Stark company to take Ned’s seat upon retirement. He had graduated college last year and was taking up hours working under his father to gain experience. It wouldn’t be uncommon for him to go with him to the office if an emergency were to come up. 

He heard Sansa take a breath through the phone and picture her nodding to herself. “_Yeah, that must be it.”_

Just as he heard his words, and heard the relief wash over her voice, he was pulling into the Lannister driveway to see the Stark family car parking there. Now it was time for his stomach to tense into knots.

“San, I’ll call you back.”

It was all he could muster out as he faintly heard her say goodbye and then hung the phone up. Putting the car in park and turning it off, he could only stare at the vehicle, seeing out of the corner of his eye the form of Cersei come to his door and open it.

“Well, are you going to sit there all night? Father is waiting for you.”

Her voice was taunting, and he pulled his eyes away in time to see her victorious smirk. As he pulled himself from the car he glared into her eyes. “Cersei. What have you done?”

his voice was full of warning, and his twin only shrugged nonchalantly as she motioned for him to move to the house. “Oh, you’ll find out.” 

She stalked behind him as he headed inside and towards his father’s office, finally moving to go up the stairs as he wrapped his fingers around the door handle. Just as he was about to enter, he heard her voice again.

”Do remember to get that necklace from Sansa when you break things off, will you? I have the perfect outfit that would go with.” 

His back teeth ground to near dust with the strength of his jaw as he turned the handle of the door and walked into his father’s office. Tywin Lannister was seared behind his desk, Ned and Catelyn Stark were in chairs opposite him and Robb Stark was sending daggers his direction from the couch in the corner. Jaime swallowed nervously as he cast his look back to his father, nodding in greeting. 

“Father, Cersei said you wished to see me?” 

Tywin leaned back in his chair, nodding gruffly as he motioned for the free seat on the other side of the desk. “Jaime, sit.” 

Jaime sat quickly, knowing his father’s voice held no room for arguments. He looked as his father began again, motioning towards Ned Stark as he spoke but keeping his emerald gaze fixed on Jaime. “I have to say I wished when I finally got Ned Stark into my office it would be to talk about a merger or a partnership. But _apparently _they got a call from Cersei not too long ago to check on the whereabouts of their daughter and found that she was nowhere to be found.” 

Tywin Lannister brought his hands together, bringing his fingers together as though he were in prayer. “Now tell me, Jaime, why Sansa Stark would be missing in the dead of night and you would also be missing. According to Cersei this is a regular occurrence.” 

_Fuck fuck fuck. Damn Cersei to all seven hells. _His mind was having the panic attack that his body could not at the current point in time. Straightening in his seat, he looked to his father and then to the Starks. “I can explain all of this.” 

“Oh please do, Lannister. Gives me all the more reason to kill you and dump your body in the river.” Robb finally spoke out, anger lacing each word. He saw Catelyn turn her head to shoot a warning look at her son. 

Sighing softly, one hand reach up to run through his golden hair. “It’s true. We meet up quite regularly. Have been for almost two years now.” 

“Two _years?” _Ned Starks voice held some disbelief to it. Jaime only silently nodded before speaking again. 

“We love each other. Have since junior year of high school. We kept it a secret but had plans to reveal it to everyone. We want to get married in the fall.” 

He found that once the truth started, he couldn’t stop it. Silently he said goodbye to Sansa’s plan. His eyes cast around to every face in the room. His father was leaned against his chair behind his desk, one hand over his mouth with a distant look of contemplation on his face. Ned and Catelyn Stark just stared at him with wider and wider eyes, and Robb was now standing from his spot on the sofa with clenched fists. 

Ned was the first to speak. Ever the diplomat his voice was steady and calm.

”Son, you know that will never work. Sansa has her whole life ahead of her. She’s leaving for Boston in the fall and will be gone for four years. You can’t think that getting married would be the best thing for her.” 

Catelyn finally spoke up, nodding her head in agreement. “Jaime, she can’t be a new student in a school five hours away _and _a new wife to a husband who is just as far away.” 

He listened to their words silently, looking down to the floor as he realized that they did have a point. Shaking his head, he looked up again to meet their eyes. “I don’t care. Sansa doesn’t care. This is what we choose.” 

His father’s hand slammed onto the desk, and his voice when he spoke was full of fury. “You don’t get to choose, boy. You don’t get to ruin your lives because of some foolhardy idea of love.” 

_More like ruin the idea of your legacy. _His mind filled in the blank, and his subconscious rolled its eyes. 

“You will break things off with her. Let her move on to Boston and live her life. Maybe destiny will have something for you and you’ll meet again in the future, but this is over tonight.”

Jaime knew his father was dismissing him with his final orders. Silently he rose and headed for the door, casting one more final thing into the air. “You’ll be breaking Sansa’s heart, I hope you’re comfortable with that.” 

With those parting words, he left the office and stalked up the stairs. Cersei was waiting at the top with a satisfied smile on her face and he glared daggers at her as he silently moved to his room, too disgusted with her to even speak. 

*****

The next day Tywin Lannister made sure that his son had plans to meet with Sansa, and watched as he left the house at the regular time to meet up with her. Jaime kept the car idled at the end of the road, staring down at his white knuckled hands as he heard her sit down in the passenger seat. When he didn’t move, she wrapped one hand tentatively around his bicep. “Jaime?” She barely spoke out of nerves. 

He found that he chuckled more out of stress than humor. “Your parents and Robb were at my house with my father when you called. Apparently Cersei told them about us. She knows we’re together.” He turned to look at her in time to see the worry transform to fear. Casting his gaze back to the steering wheel he continued. 

“They all agreed that we shouldn’t be together. That we would hold each other back.” He paused, gaining the courage to continue. “And maybe they’re right.” 

Her hand tightened on his arm, and he saw her shaking her head out of his peripheral vision. 

“No. They just don’t get it. They don’t know our plan. They’ll understand once they know the plan.” 

He heard the panic in her voice, and looked up to see the tears pooling in her eyes. He slammed the steering wheel with one hand out of frustration and cursed under his breath. “San, you’re moving five hours away. I’m going to the police academy and starting a life here. We’d be separated for _four years. _It’s stupid to think that that would work.” 

She was silent for a long time, and he hesitantly glanced over to see her face. Sadness transformed to anger and fury that transformed into a blanket of stone cold indifference. Her blue eyes hardened and she lost all emotion as even her voice went numb. 

“So this is it? You’re calling it quits? Because our families say so? We were going to last. I was going to be your forever, Jaime Lannister.”

The sadness crept back into her voice as it broke and the tears began to stream down her face. He closed his eyes and scrubbed a hand down his face. 

“Sansa. I’m sorry. I love you. But it has to be this way, please see that.” 

He was pleading with her, and her face tangled into fury again as she wrenched the door open in anger. “Oh, I’ll see it. Hope your forever is fantastic, Jaime.”

Her voice was filled with anger, but her blue eyes were infilled with hurt as tears streamed down her cheeks. In a rush she was out of the car and storming down the street, and Jaime sat and watched as she disappeared into the house. 

Slamming the steering wheel again he briefly felt pain sting through his hand, but ignored it as one stray tear fell down his face. 

“Fuck you, Cersei.” He spoke into the night as he turned his car back towards home. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys. It gets better. I promise.


	4. Howling at the Moon

Cersei was practically giddy when Jaime brought the confirmation to his father that he followed through and ended things with Sansa. Tywin merely grunted in acknowledgement, nodding his head and saying some lecture about how he had made the correct decision. Though Jaime failed to see where there was a decision, he really didn’t see as though he had much of a choice in the matter.

He found it difficult to look at Cersei with any form of brotherly affection after that night. Anything that was there had gotten thrown out the window and replaced with hatred and disgust. He tried to find some reasoning behind his twin’s actions, but could come up with nothing except that she was just a jealous and self centered human being. Instead of spending time with her, he found himself spending more and more time with Tyrion, his younger brother gladly accepting the affection of his brother. Jaime also knew that Cersei would tend to steer clear of him if he hung out with Tyrion as a companion. The two never did get along. _Bonus_, his mind added. 

Summer was filled with spending time with friends, and preparing for his entrance into the police academy come fall. One of his best friends from the football team, Bronn Blackwater was also entering the academy and he found a sense of comraderie in having a friend to share experiences with. The summer was filled with parties as classmates began to prepare to head off to their next path, and Jaime attended each one. 

He always kept an eye out for Sansa, and felt his heart sink for weeks following their breakup when he failed to see her in any gatherings. He saw her older cousin, Jon Targaryen, and her younger sister Arya plenty of times, and though the man was weary of him at first due to the history with Sansa, the two of them eventually opened up and gave Jaime small tidbits of information. 

Sansa had spent the first week or so upset, often locking herself in her room and refusing to talk to anyone who attempted. That piece of information made the knife slide further into Jaime’s gut as guilt settled deep into his bones. After that, Robb and Jon both teamed up, calling upon Sansa’s best friend Margery Tyrell to bring her out of her funk. Margery was quick to come barging into Sansa’s room and, after a few hours of the two of them being cooped up in there, Sansa finally was dragged out. 

They kept a low profile for a while, but about a month after the blowup of their relationship, Jaime was at a party that Margery was hosting when he caught the glimpse of fiery red hair close to Margery. He couldn’t help but drink in the sight of her, his heart clenching sadly as he forced himself to keep his distance. He watched her from across the room, and at one point he could have sworn that she made eye contact with him and offered a ghost of a smile. It lasted all of a second, but he swore that it had happened. 

Summer passed in a blur and one by one he watched as his friends and fellow classmates departed off to college or wherever else they were going. He remembered Sansa telling him when she would depart for Boston, and on that particular day he found that he was drawn to the end of her road. He had Bronn and Tyrion with him, as they had plans to go grab food and then find someplace to occupy their day, and when he larked the car at the end of the road with the right view to the Stark household, he heard Bronn whistle loudly. 

“Dude, you still got it bad for this girl I take it then?” His voice rang through as he slapped Jaime on the shoulder. He heard Tyrion shuffle in the backseat as he groaned sarcastically. 

“I’m half surprised he isn’t sticking it to everyone involved and hopping on the first plane to Boston to follow her.”

Jaime drowned out their banter as he saw Sansa emerge from the house with a large bag. He watched her put it in the car as Ned Stark emerged with the rest of the family. Covering his mouth with one hand he watched forlornly as she said goodbye to everyone and her father climbed into the drivers seat of the car. He could see the tears streaming down on her face from his vantage point, and his brow furrowed as he watched the scene. He should be there, in that group saying goodbye and promising to visit. It wasn’t fair. 

The scene lasted a few more long moments before eventually Sansa joined her father in the car and they began to pull away from the house. They were headed straight for them, as he caught Bronn look to the approaching car and then to Jaime. “Jaime, don’t you think you want to move? What if they see you lurking here? Ned Stark might just stop to kill you before he drops his daughter off at the airport.” 

He knew he should leave. But he couldn’t. He found that his body was stuck in neutral, refusing to start the car again as Sansa drove closer. In a matter of moments the car was pulling out right in front of them and turning so the passenger side of the car was facing them. His eyes followed as Sansa turned her head to lock eyes with him. The tears were still falling down her face and he saw her hand go up in a silent gasp as she looked at him. Silently, he reached his hand up to give a silent wave, lips curving up into a half smile that he knew didn’t reach his eyes. Those were far too sad to hold any form of a smile. Sansa gave a wave in return, her hand pressing up against the window and her eyes staying locked on his for as long as possible before they were forced to part again and the car vanished out of sight. 

When he was confident that the car was no longer in view, he finally put the car in drive and began to drive on their destination. He caught Bronn and Tyrion’s faces in the rear view mirror, both just as sad as they stared at him. 

“That was fucking pathetic. I might have had more fun kicking a puppy.” Bronn’s voice out words to both of their expression’s and Jaime just rolled his eyes and shook his head. 

It wasn’t long after that day that Jaime and Bronn both went off to the police academy. It was a long five months of training, but Jaime threw himself into it. _All in, _was what he had told Sansa when he told her his goal. He was going to go all in and see how far up her could get, maybe even get the approval of his father in his decision to take this path. 

Bronn and him both took on jobs with the King’s Landing police department as officers, and Jaime flung himself into the job, making every milestone he set out for himself. Though, there was still something missing that he felt deep within himself. Like a hole that was there. He often refused any woman that Bronn or Tyrion tried to throw his way, and there were plenty of them, with a polite smile. He hadn’t heard much from Cersei, who had shipped off to some fashion school in Dorne and seemed to be doing well. _Good Riddance. _

His nights were spent going to parties with Bronn and occasionally Tyrion. He found that nights were when the deep hole in his mind began to itch and ache, and the only solace on some nights would be at the bottom of beer cans. Those nights when he stumbled into his father’s home laughing at something Bronn said as a parting gift, he always caught sight of Tywin Lannister looking as him grimly and shaking his head.

He became one of the most loved police officers, the name Lannister surely having some weight behind the public’s affection. Jon and Robb both seemed to come around to him as Sansa had settled into Boston, and Arya often tagged along and became quite good friends with Tyrion and often joined their friend group. It was through that circle of friends that he gained insight into how Sansa was doing off in college. She had flung herself into her schoolwork, and had also taken up an internship working for The Atlantic magazine. He had to admit that he was proud of just how well she was flourishing, admitting that he wanted nothin but her success. 

Three years flew by in a flash, and found Bronn and himself flying up the police hierarchy. Status of officer turned quickly into Detective, and then quickly to Sergeant. Many commented that the speed at which the two of them were soaring was unheard of, and they both just grinned and stated that determination had everything to do with it. Jaime could have sworn he caught Tywin with a look of satisfaction on his face as he was promoted to Sergeant. 

It was in one of their weekly meetings at Hot Pie’s bar that Jaime sunk off of his cloud of achievement when Robb mentioned that the family would be flying out to Boston to visit Sansa for the holidays. Arya was the one to mention rather glumly that they had to meet Sansa’s new boyfriend, and he wouldn’t have missed her eye roll. Jaime sat a little straighter as he tried to act disinterested, though Robb only passed him a knowing look. 

“The guy’s name is Bolton. Ramsey I guess his name is. Goes to the same school as her, they met through fellow friends I guess.” Robb’s shoulders shrugged as he finished his beer. 

Jaime’s heart sunk a little as he caught Bronn and Tyrion shooting him an apologetic glance. He only nodded softly as he stated how he hoped she was happy. Though some part of him hoped that that relationship wouldn’t last long and she would return to King’s Landing. Return to _him. _


	5. Long Four Years

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, two updates in one day? Say what? I probably won’t be able to write tomorrow at all and the weekend is usually a coin toss with free time, so I crammed this in on my day off. I’ll try to sneak something in this weekend, but no real promises there. Enjoy!

It became common knowledge in their group of friends that Jaime still harbored feelings for Sansa. Where Robb had only had anger and fury that one night after high school graduation, he was actually supportive of it now. No longer was Jaime the trouble making high school football quarterback, he was the successful member of the King’s Landing police force and many people throughout the town whispered that he would probably end up being the youngest chief of police before too long. Jaime was sure the dislike of Sansa’s boyfriend, Ramsey Bolton, had something to do with the new found like of him, also. 

The Stark family had all flown out to Boston to visit with Sansa, where they were all introduced to him. Upon returning home, Robb and Arya both shared their thoughts on him. They both had bad feelings about him, but Sansa seemed to like him so they both bit their tongues and put smiles on their faces. 

_“She is supportive of my relationship with Talisa, Arya’s with Gendry, we have to try to be supportive of hers too_” were the words that Robb used to reason with Jaime when he tended to tense up at the idea of both of them not liking the guy. 

The time eventually came when Sansa was graduating from Boston University, and Jon was the one to break the news that Sansa had accepted a job at The Atlantic after a successful internship. She had no plans to come home. The idea made Jaime’s stomach drop momentarily before the guilt set in. He had done this. He had caused this. 

Or better yet, _Cersei_ had caused this. 

His twin had kept her distance. Returning after a two year program at a fashion school in Dorne only to quickly bed and marry a much older man, the wealthy mayor of King’s Landing- Robert Baratheon. He was one of Ned Stark’s best friends and only a year younger than him, and the thought of his sister marrying him repulsed Jaime even more. She got a job working as a lead in some modeling agency, and moved into Robert’s big townhouse. They had been married for two years already and word was finally filtering down to him that she was expecting their first child. He didn’t call to offer congratulations. 

He bid everyone farewell as the Stark clan went off to witness Sansa’s graduation, telling Robb and Jon to send her his congratulations. They were gone for a week, and Jaime spent more and more time with Bronn and Tyrion. Tyrion has recently graduated from high school and was going off to study business in college, and Jaime offered every ounce of support that wasn’t coming from the rest of his family. 

When the time finally came for the Stark family to come home, they all made plans for their regular Friday night at Hot Pie’s after everyone got off work. Bronn and Jaime headed straight over, still in their uniforms, as they were running late. They slid into their booth at the bar and said their greetings to everyone, whom all gave them each hugs and smiles. All except Robb, who seemed tense like he was holding in a secret. Jaime immediately picked up on it, and after ordering a beer he turned to Robb. 

“Robb, what’s got your panties in a bunch?” 

The man only shook his head as he took another swing of beer. _Talkative_. 

It was Arya who spoke up. 

“We left Sansa two days ago. Her boyfriend was setting off even more red flags to the both of us. Dad just gave the lecture to Sansa of being careful but she just was earnest that she was happy, so we left it at that. Robb got a call from her today.” 

She paused as her voice drifted away and Robb sent her a warning glare. Jaime tensed at the exchange. 

“And?” He pushed, and Robb finally sighed as he sat back in his seat. 

“She called asking if I could get the first flight back out there. That she needed help. She would pay for it. I’m leaving in a couple of hours. She sounded desperate.” 

There it was. The familiar knife wrenching pain in his gut. His heart skipped a beat and he nodded as he put his beer down and picked up his phone. “What airline? I’ll go with you. Wouldn’t hurt to have a cop with you if she’s that desperate.” 

Bronn was the one to grab the phone from his hands, Tyrion the one to speak. “Jaime, you haven’t talked to her in four years. You going over there will not make things better.” 

He sighed and clenched his jaw, but had to concede his point. Nodding slightly, he picked up his beer and downed it in frustration, ordering another one in quick succession. 

The night went fairly quietly, and Jon and Robb both eventually left so that Robb could make his flight. They all wished him good luck, and Jaime told him to keep him updated and to call if he needed him. 

Robb was gone for a week, with no phone calls to anyone and no updates. All Arya heard from him was that he was getting on a flight Friday, and would be there for their usual Friday night hangout. And when that day finally came, Jaime got tied up in paperwork at the precinct and sent Bronn ahead. He held his breath in anticipation as he quickly drove out to Hot Pie’s, and he was even more tense as he saw Robb and Bronn out front waiting for him. He flung the car in park and ran out of it as soon as it was off, shoulders tense and a quizzical look on his face. As he approached them both, they each held out hands, Bronn grabbing onto his friend and pulling him back slightly. Jaime was only focused on Robb. 

“So you leave for a week saying Sansa needs help and then_ don’t fucking say anything_?” 

The anger was laced in his voice and he had to do everything he could to keep himself in check. Robb just held a hand out in a calming manner, briefly looking over his shoulder back to the bar. 

“Jaime, I’m sorry. But before you go in there I need to tell you something.” 

Jaime nodded for him to continue. 

“Sansa came back with me. Shit hit the fan with Ramsey. Literally.”

The tenseness amplified as he spoke through a clenched jaw. “What do you mean?” 

“He found some gold necklace in some jewelry box when she was moving in with him. Lost his shit. I’m sure the 12 pack he had consumed didn’t make matters any better. Started going on a tirade about how she never owned gold things before and it was too nice for something that she would buy. So claimed she was cheating on him. When she denied it, everything amplified and he went after her. She grabbed what she could and left, went and hid out at a friend’s house and called me. I helped press charges and now Ramsey is rotting in some jail cell in Boston. I guess he had multiple charges of drunkenly beating women that he tried to hide from Sansa.” 

All Jaime could do was blink for a few moments and stare at Robb as the words fell out of his mouth. It seemed as though they were getting farther and farther away as he listened. Shaking his head, he waved off Bronn’s grip on his arm and ran a hand through his hair. 

“What do you mean ‘went after her’ Robb?” 

Robb sighed and his facial expression said it all. Jaime’s stomach rolled. 

“He hit her. Quite a few times. Most of the marks are on her body, one or two on her arms. But she also has a black eye. She didn’t want to come with us but Jon and I dragged her out. She needed a drink and some friends around her.” 

Jaime nodded as he moved to enter the bar, his mind screaming that Sansa was in there and _Sansa_ was a few feet away. Robb grabbed him as he passed by him. 

“Just be careful, Jaime. Don’t point anything out. She’s a bit skittish with this whole thing and doesn’t want to talk about it.” 

Jaime nodded and mumbled that he would try, and Robb led him into the bar and over to their usual table. 

He was stunned to see how she had changed. She was thinner than she was four years ago, and taller. Definitely taller. Her long hair was cut to just past her shoulders and her hair...her hair is what shocked him. It was no longer the vibrant red that she was born with. It was bleached to blonde. He noticed the black eye, and clenched his jaw briefly as he cursed Ramsey Bolton. Even in the warmth of May, she wore a long sleeve shirt and yoga pants, no doubt to cover up the other marks the bastard had put on her. One thing he almost missed, though, was the necklace on her neck. He only caught it because the light caught the gemstones on it, and he immediately widened his eyes. 

He knew then and there that this necklace was what caused the fight. The roaring lion’s head still held the ruby in its mouth and the diamonds still lit up its mane. Sansa let it hang loose for all the world to see and Jaime couldn’t help but smile at that image as he took a seat next to Bronn so he was across from Sansa who sat sandwiched between Robb and Jon. Ever her protectors. She looked up briefly, self consciously turning her head so her black eye was turned away from him as she smiled and lifted up a hand as a wave, her voice coming out quiet and tentative. “Hey, Jaime.” 

He found himself settling a little as she acknowledged him. A smile lit up his face, a true smile that reached his eyes as he nodded to her. “Hey, Sansa. Glad to have you home. How long are you here for?” The question came unbiddingly from down deep, and he mentally slapped himself. Under the table he felt Bronn kick him as if to say ‘Smooth, Lannister.’ 

To Sansa’s credit, she only looked to Robb and not her bottom lip as she looked down to her glass of wine. “Probably for long term. I’m going to look for jobs down here. Boston has a dark cloud over it now.” 

He caught her motioning to her bruised eye, and nodded solemnly before Arya suddenly appeared, a taller boy by her side. Gendry, his mind supplied. 

“Guys, this is Gendry. Figured it was time to introduce him to the gang.” She went and slid next to her siblings, reaching out to grab Sansa’s hand and give it a squeeze. Everyone did a collective ‘hi’ to Gendry before everyone got swung up in conversation and catching Sansa up on everything that was going on. She was shocked to hear how Jaime was being pushed as the next chief of police, and he warmed at the taunt that she threw out.

“Bad boy Jaime Lannister leading the town’s police force. That ought to send a message out to every high school troublemaker.” 

He was overjoyed to see through the night that she eased a bit and relaxed, not becoming so guarded about her bruises and laughing a true laugh as people joked around. 

As the night drew to a close, and last call was called throughout the bar, Robb leaned to Sansa and asked if she was ready to go home. She tiredly nodded her head, stretching slightly as she followed her brother’s lead to get up. Jaime saw her getting ready to leave and caught her arm as she moved towards the door. He felt her tense under his touch, so let go softly as she turned to face him with wide eyes. 

“Sansa, it’s okay.” He spoke softly and she nodded, he caught the sigh of relief that came out of her mouth. “I was just wondering if you wanted to meet up for a drink or something? Just the two of us? I feel like we have a lot to catch up on.” 

He saw her bite her bottom lip as her gaze turned back to Robb and Jon who stood back a little to give them some sort of privacy while also offering Sansa support. They both nodded with large smiles on their faces. She looked back to him and hesitantly nodded. 

“Yeah, I think that would be nice.” 

He couldn’t help the large grin that spread across his face. He hadn’t felt this overjoyed since before they broke up. Nodding his head, he took a breath. 

“Great, how about tomorrow night? I’m off work so we can go early.”

Sansa nodded, a hand going up to grab onto the lion necklace. “Yeah, tomorrow night. Here?”

“Yeah, meet you at 6?”

Sansa grinned and nodded, before saying her goodbyes and headed back to Robb who looked back at Jaime and sent him a wink and a smirk. 


	6. Who We Are Now

Jaime was on pins and needles all the next day, eyes flickering constantly to the time as he internally counted down the hours until he had to meet Sansa. Honestly he was surprised that he didn’t wear a hole through his apartment floor by all the listless wandering he did to try to occupy himself. 

Bronn found it quite hilarious, sitting on the couch watching him and laughing every now and then. “Jaime Lannister reduced to a nervous school boy at the idea of going on a date with his old high school girlfriend.” His head shook as he spoke and his voice told of the laughter he was trying to bite down. 

Jaime only glared at him as he flopped down on the couch next to him. “Not a date. Just a meetup.” 

He watched Bronn roll his eyes and mockingly mumble Jaime’s words back to him. 

“And that’s what every high school boy says on their first date, too.” 

Jaime looked at his friend with a mocking curious look on his face. “What are you even doing here? Don’t you have some strip club to terrorize or something?” 

Never missing a beat, Bronn just shrugged his shoulders as he sat back on the couch and put his feet up on the table in front of it. “Thought about it, but then I decided that watching you panic like a teenager again would have more entertainment value.” 

Shooting him one last glare before he did one last check at the time. 5:00. Just enough time to get dressed and then start the trek to Hot Pie’s to meet Sansa. 

He made it early enough to grab a table, pushed off to the side against a wall so as to give them some form of privacy in the already crowded building. Ordering a beer he sat patiently and waited for Sansa to get there, and never one to disappoint she walked into the bar 6 on the dot. Her shorter blonde hair threw him for a loop, him being so used to seeing her with long red hair that he almost cast her off as another stranger that was coming to enjoy dinner. Until she started to walk towards him with a hesitant smile on her face. 

He took her in and couldn’t help the large grin that broke out on his face as he saw her. It was safe for him to say that he never thought that he would ever be seeing her again, not to mention meeting up for dinner. But, fate had funny ways of getting its way. 

As Sansa came to sit across from him, he took a moment to truly take her in, noticing the moment his heart tensed up skipped a quick beat at the sight of her so close. He spotted the lion necklace safely wrapped around her neck, and couldn’t help the satisfied smirk that graced his features as it twinkled in the lights overhead. He noticed that she must have had concealer on to cover the bruise over her eye, and whatever bruises remained on her arms as she wore a short sleeve shirt.

Jaime couldn’t help but grind his teeth in frustration. He wished that this Ramsey Bolton lived closer, because he would throw whatever cop weight he had and pull him out of jail just to kill him. 

“It’s good to see you again, Jaime.” Sansa’s voice tore him away from his thoughts, and he met her eyes to see a soft, hesitant smile. She almost seemed like a deer in headlights ready to run at any moment. Jaime just smiled warmly at her and nodded. 

“I’m ecstatic that you agreed to meet me, Sansa.” He saw her relax slightly at his words, and leaned towards her slightly from the other side of the table.

“So, The Atlantic, huh?” He decided to play it safe, going for the job she had almost taken. Sansa nodded, playing with the glass of wine she had ordered. 

“Yeah, I got an internship in college and they offered me a job at graduation. Guess they were impressed by my dedication. I was looking forward to writing for them, but they did give me an awesome letter of recommendation for future use.” She spoke down to her glass and shrugged her shoulders at the end, as if to say ‘such is life.’ When she spoke again, it was a change of subject and she had that playful grin on her face that he so loved. “You’ve become quite the model cop, as word around town says. No one can say anything bad about Lieutenant Lannister. Does have quite the ring to it though.” 

He chuckled softly, gaze falling down to the table as he nodded. “I told you I was going all in. I meant what I said.” His gaze lifted back up, green eyes locked onto blue and gave a deep and meaningful look. “Everything I said, I meant. I don’t lie.” 

He knew he would be foolish to make a move now. She had literally just gotten out of a tough relationship. No, he had to wait. But he couldn’t help the words coming out of his mouth. Jaime didn’t know if she harbored any ill feelings for his actions four years ago, but he needed her to know that he meant it when he said he wanted her to be his forever all those years ago. He still meant it. God’s, he thinks he would _always _mean it. 

Sansa nodded, furrowing her brows momentarily before smoothing her face again. “I know. You always hated liars, that’s one thing I liked about you.” A far off look crossed her eyes before she schooled her expression again, that teasing smirk coming across her face again. “Plus, Cersei took all the lying and fake of the gene pool for the both of you.” 

He rolled his eyes and scoffed at the mention of his twin. Taking a sip of his beer, he shook his head. “You know I’ve barely talked to her since she pulled that stunt with us? I guess she’s married Robert Baratheon and is having his kid soon. Hope Robert likes a trophy wife because that’s all she wanted in life apparently.” 

Sansa’s face screwed up into a look of disgust. “My _father’s _best friend? That’s so gross.” 

Jaime laughed in agreement. “Totally agree. All the power to Robert for having to deal with her for the rest of his life” 

sansa shook her head slowly in astonishment, slowly raising the wine glass to her mouth as she spoke next. “Poor Robert might be lead to an early grave with her in his life every day.” 

Jaime had to agree to that and brought his beer up in a silent salute. Sansa put her glass down with a serious expression on her face. 

“I did realize that she was the cause of what happened. I realized how unavoidable and necessary it was at the time.” Her hand went up to grasp the necklace. “I just wish I didn’t fall into that stupid relationship before getting back here.” 

The last words were nearly silent, and Jaime had to strain to hear them. Gently he asked the question that was at the top of his tongue. 

“What happened, Sansa?” 

She looked up and behind him, taking in the other patrons of the bar as she began to speak.

”I met him through friends at a party. I had been single after us, with no intention of ever finding someone. Everyone pushed me to say hi to him at a party. He was nice and charming at first. Knew just what to say to make me feel good. He asked me out and I said ‘why not.’ I was in Boston. It was time to move on. I went on a few dates before we decided to go exclusive. That’s when things changed.” 

She broke off for a moment, looking everywhere but at him as she picked up again. 

“He started to get controlling. Telling me where I could go and who I could do it with. God forbid I texted anyone in front of him. That was a big no. Or talked of going back home. I couldn’t be away from him for that long. Robb and Arya had their hesitations with him, and voiced them in their own way. I just shrugged them off because I thought I was in love. Then he convinced me to move in with him and found this.” She picked the necklace up. “I couldn’t part with it. It seemed to have to much history behind it and I couldn’t let it go. Let that part of me go. So I kept it tucked away. He got drunk and found it in my stuff one night. Lost it and said I was cheating on him. I just tried saying it was a gift from the past but he wouldn’t buy it. Wanted me to throw it away if it meant nothing. But it did. I said I wouldn’t throw it away and then he started to hit me.” 

Her gaze locked onto his then, and his heart leapt at her next words. 

“I don’t regret it, Jaime. It was a sentimental thing. It meant a lot to me and I wasn’t lying. That night just showed me something. Showed me that that part of my life, I can never walk away from. It means too much and I think it always will.” 

He was the one to stop short at that and stare at her with wide eyes fir a moment before he schooled himself and got a hold of his expression again. Reaching a hand out, he wrapped his hand around hers and squeezed gently.

”It will always mean something to me, San. It will never become just a high school fling for me.” 

She smiled, bringing her free hand to lay on top of his. 

“It will never be high school love, Jaime. It was true love. I think it always was and it always will be. I think that’s why it hurt so much that night.” 

Jaime shook his head at her words, a serious look on his face as he made eye contact with her.

”That was something I had no control over. And I’m sorry.” 

Sansa smiled warmly and nodded.

”I know, Jaime. I see that now.” 

Jaime not his tongue to try to keep the words down, but he found them coming up unbidden. He tried catching them as they left his mouth but he couldn’t maybe Cersei was right, maybe he was the dumb twin. 

“I’ve loved you this whole time, Sansa. There’s never been anyone else.” 


	7. Way Deep Down

Tyrion and Bronn were side by side on the couch when Jaime returned from meeting Sansa. They looked over at him and both nudged each other at the grin that was plastered across Jaime’s face. All he could do was roll his eyes as he sat in the chair next to the couch and prepare for their attack. 

“By the look on your face I would be tempted to say your date went great.” Tyrion’s jibe was first, and Bronn quickly nudged him and shook his head. 

“Not a date, remember? ‘Just a meetup’. But this ‘meetup’ lasted an awfully long time and you look far too happy.” 

Bronn put emphasis on certain words, even using air quotes just to poke fun. Jaime rolled his eyes again and nodded. 

“Yes, the meetup went good. We actually have plans to meet again next week. This time,” he pointed at both of them, “actually a date. Confirmed.” 

Tyrion and Bronn both simultaneously grinned and high fived. Bronn then pointed to Jaime with one eyebrow raised. “Robb and Jon each owe us $20 now, thank you.” 

It was Jaime’s turn to raise an eyebrow at the two of them. “$20? Dare I ask?” 

Tyrion was the one to explain, shrugging nonchalantly. “We had a discussion on when you guys would start going out again. They said at least another month, we said as soon as possible. I never bet against you.” 

Jaime scoffed, but couldn’t help the chuckle as he shook his head. “We’re going on one date. That’s not dating. That’s testing the waters.” 

Bronn and Tyrion both shared a look before shrugging and speaking at the same time. “Sure it is. We’re still collecting though.” 

Jaime could only roll his eyes, shaking them and their absurdity off. But was it absurdity? They had watched for four years as he practically pined after the relationship that he had with this woman. They saw him cast aside a relationship with his own twin after she ruined it. They had sat by and watched as he spurned every woman that tried to make a move on him for the hope that one day, hopefully, Sansa Stark would come walking back into his life. And she finally did. _So_, Jaime’s subconscious reasoned, _were they truly being ‘absurd_’? That was kind of debatable. 

It had fallen silent as Jaime listened to his inner voice in his mind, and finally, out of seemingly nowhere, he turned back to his brother and his friend. “Fine. You’re right. I want this to progress to more and I’ll try my damnedest to get it there. I want to marry her and spend the rest of my life with her.” 

It felt like a lead weight being lifted off of his heart as he finally allowed the words to be spoken. It was a thought that he had denied himself for so long, the idea of marrying Sansa. In high school they had often talked about what their wedding would be like, picturing it happening at their spot by the river with all their families there. But after that fateful night, Jaime locked away those dreams and images in a steel box in his mind, urging them never to come out again. But now, especially after this meeting with her, he could finally start to allow those hopes and dreams to trickle out again. He wanted Sansa Stark by his side, and by his side for good. There was nothing that Cersei or Ned Stark, or his father could do about it. 

The next day found Jaime walking up the walkway to his father’s house. His apartment wasn’t too far from the house, within walking distance, and Jaime quietly slipped out without Bronn noticing to meet with Tywin Lannister.

Knocking on the door he waited for the butler to open up, and upon seeing Jaime there he automatically led him to his father’s study, announcing that he was here and letting him in. Tywin Lannister sat behind his large desk with work spread in front of him. The man never stopped working, Jaime was pretty confident that the man had dreams of work while he slept.

The older man looked up as Jaime sat in a chair on the opposite side of the desk, leaning back in his own chair and raising one eyebrow to him. “And what brings you here on a Sunday morning, Jaime?” 

Jaime leaned forward, resting his arms on his thighs and fisting his hands together. Meeting his father’s gaze, he gave him the most serious look he could. “I have something to ask you, father.” Tywin motioned for him to continue and Jaime took a breath. “Sansa Stark has returned to King’s Landing.” 

Tywin nodded smoothly. “And you want my permission to pursue a relationship with her?” 

Jaime chuckled and shook his head. “No, I’m already there if I have any say in it.” A brief pause formed as he watched his father’s stony expression. “I’m asking you for mother’s engagement ring. I know you want it to stay in the Lannister family, that’s why Cersei wouldn’t get it even though she asked rather vehemently for it. I’m going to marry Sansa. You can prohibit me from doing so but I am going to do it with or without your blessing. I would like to pass on something of mother into my relationship with her.” 

Tywin was silent as Jaime spoke, face a Stoney expression that was unreadable. As he finished, Tywin simply nodded and rose from his seat. Jaime watched with bated breath as he moved to the wall and began to type in the code for the safe that was set into the wall. The older man turned his head slightly to speak over his shoulder to him. 

“What you need to understand, Jaime, is that I at no point in time rejected the _idea _of your relationship with Miss Stark. I merely rejected the idea of you both locking into marriage straight out of high school. It is common knowledge that high school romances don’t last long term. You both had the prime of your youths ahead of you to explore and enjoy, you didn’t need to be locked into a marriage. Especially one that involved a great distance as it did.” 

He watched as his father reached into the safe, pulling out a small box and looking down at it fondly before he turned and returned to his seat. 

“Now that you both are older and wiser, more experienced in life than you were, I would support your relationship with her. It’s actually a match that I would look for for you if I had control over it. Quite strategic, especially for the Lannister name.” 

At the mention of his support, Tywin softly slid the small jewelry box over the table so it rested in front of Jaime. He hesitantly reached out and opened the box, staring down at the gold engagement ring. He took in the large ruby and the diamonds that surrounded it. Fond memories of sitting next to his mother with her hand in his little one, admiring it and counting the stones as he learned to count. Even at a young age he struggled with numbers, and it became an interesting game for them to spend time and Jaime would count the twelve small diamonds as he traced them with his hand over and over again. A warm smile crossed his features as he pictured Sansa wearing the band, their own children one day admiring the stones on the golden band. 

Closing the box he kept it in his hands as his eyes traveled up to meet his father’s, who had been watching him the whole time. “Thank you, father. I really do appreciate your support.” 

Tywin could only smirk and raise one eyebrow as he nodded slightly. “Jaime, do promise me one thing.” Jaime nodded. “Put that ring on her finger before Cersei learns of your plans and tries to ruin them. We can’t have her ruining your relationship with Sansa Stark a second time.” 

Jaime could only nod as he rose to leave. He knew Cersei would come out of the woodwork. Especially after she learned of Jaime’s possession of their mother’s engagement ring. He only hoped that Sansa still felt the same way about him as he did about her, and was ready to pick up where they left off in high school. 


	8. Same Old Feelings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m baackkkkkk. It’s been a crazy little bit, as I’ve been away working a horse show from Thursday to Monday and have been trying to recoup. But now I’m in full swing!

The talk with his father weighed heavily on Jaime’s mind for weeks. He continued to see Sansa as much as possible, even when she got a job working for a magazine that was local to the city. The idea of Cersei lying in wait to make a move kept him on his toes, and he was waiting for the perfect moment to ask Sansa to marry him. A month had passed before he felt as though it was finally getting there. 

Jaime knew that Sansa would be at work all day today, leaving him open to execute the next part of his plan. He rolled up to the Stark house at his lunch break, parking the police cruiser on the side of the street and stepping up to the door. His mother’s engagement ring was safely in his pocket, he was convinced not to let it out of his sight. When, not if, Cersei found out about his possession of the ring, he wouldn’t put it past her to steal it right out from under him. 

As he waited for the door to open, he palmed the small velvet box in his pocket, but quickly dropped it when the door swung open to see Ned and Catelyn Stark with worried expressions on their faces. Surely the police cruiser had them in mild hysteria. Giving them a confidant smile, he put out his hand in greeting. “Mr and Mrs Stark.” 

Both of the Stark parents took turns shaking his hand, before Ned spoke with a puzzled expression to his voice. “Jaime, is everything alright?” 

Jaime nodded and chuckled softly, glancing over his shoulder back to the street. “Yes, yes. Everything is fine. I’m actually on lunch break and came down to ask to speak to the both of you.” 

The Starks each stepped aside, Ned widening the door and motioning for him to follow them. He let himself be lead to the living room, where he took the offered seat and looked over to the two parents. 

“Mr and Mrs Stark-“ 

“Please, Jaime, it’s Ned and Catelyn. We are well aware of the relationship with our daughter that you’ve resumed. She doesn’t hide anything from us these days.” Catelyn’s voice held the smile that formed on her face in her words. Jaime grinned and nodded.

“Sorry, I should have known you would be aware of that. But that’s actually why I’m here.” He stood briefly to extract the velvet box from his pocket, hiding it in his fist as he explained. “I have loved Sansa since high school, and although our relationship was frowned upon I felt heartbroken at the loss of her. As you are probably aware, I spent these four years dedicated to my work and haven’t pursued other relationships.” 

Ned nodded briefly. “The word is that you’ll be the next chief of Police when Aerys Targaryen steps down within the next few years. Making you the youngest one. Pretty impressive.”

Jaime nodded in acknowledgment. “Thank you, sir. But when Sansa returned, and with such a scarred past in Boston, I swore to myself I would never let that happen to her again. We started seeing each other, and I believe we both have the same feelings that we had for each other. Which brings me to why I’m here.” 

He placed the box on the coffee table between them, opening it so the ring was presented to them. Jaime noticed them both look at the ring, no doubt recognizing it as Joanna Lannister’s. It had been quite the statement piece back in the day. 

“I intend to use that ring to ask Sansa to marry me. With both of yours permission, of course.”

Ned and Catelyn both looked to the ring before meeting each other’s gaze. It seemed as though the had a silent conversation for a long moment that had Jaime holding his breath in anticipation. When, finally, they nodded to each other and turned to him, Ned was the one to slide the ring back to Jaime with a small smile. 

“Jaime, Sansa is happier than she has been in four years. That relationship with that Bolton boy was the height of it. After what happened we were happy just to have her home. And then she began to heal and smile again and only talked of you and the time she spent with you and her older brothers and Arya. We were overjoyed that she told us she had begun exploring a relationship with you again. We’d like for nothing more than for you to marry her and continue that for Sansa. She feels safe with you.”

Hearing those words come from Ned Stark’s mouth made Jaime instantly relax. The support that both parents showed in their faces gave resolve to him. Grabbing the ring again he tucked it into his pocket once more and stood, holding out his hand in thanks. 

“I can’t thank you both enough for your support this time around. I won’t let you down.” 

The Stark parents nodded as they led him out and watched him leave. Once Jaime was back in his cruiser he sunk against the seat and let out a sigh. He was one step closer. He could practically see the moment in his mind’s eye, and how sweet it looked. 

Work cane and went, and Jaime trudged back into his apartment late that night. The sun had already set long before Jaime pulled up to the building, and his apartment was swathed in only darkness as he shut the door and fumbled for the light switch. 

As the lights flicked on and illuminated the area, his eyes were immediately drawn to the form reclining on the couch. His immediate mind’s reaction would be that Bronn had snuck in after some misadventure gone awry, as what typically happened when he had a day off that Jaime didn’t, but the long blonde hair immediately negated that thought process. His twin sat back on the couch, both arms resting on the back of the couch and one hand twirling a lock of long blonde hair continuously. Her legs were crossed at the knee, and her stomach was pronounced. She had to be around six or seven months pregnant now, if Jaime’s memory serves him correctly. 

The woman turned towards him and smiled brightly, standing up as quickly as she could and putting both arms out as if to move to hug him. “_Brother! _How long has it been?” 

He moved away as she made to advance towards him, shooting her a tense and angry look. “Not long enough in my opinion. What are you doing in my apartment?” 

Cersei shrugged nonchalantly as she pouted. “Oh, that Bronn guy you hang out with was really easy to convince to let me borrow his key. Turns out he’ll do almost _anything _at the promise of a handjob.” She seemed almost bored at the talk to seducing a man not her husband just for information. Though, Jaime assumes, that was a very Cersei thing to do. As she continued, she began to pace, wrapping her hand around her chin and seeming puzzled for a moment. “Although I did come for something. See. I heard through the grape vine that daddy dearest gave her our mother’s ring. You couldn’t _possibly _have a need for it so I came to collect it off your hands.” 

Jaime clenched his jaw, fists tightening as he tried to control himself. He was sure all of the work he put into getting to this level in the police would hang on the precipice if he murdered his twin sister. No matter how much she would deserve it. 

He finally shook his head at her. “Cersei, you can pry it out of my dead hands. Because I’d have to be dead for you to get that ring. I’m giving it to Sansa Stark and there is _nothing that you can do to stop it. _Her parents are on board, father is on board. Everyone we know and care about are on board. You can’t drive a wedge for your own gain anymore. Drop it.” 

Cersei was silent before she laughed darkly. Shaking her head so her blonde locks swung around like a curtain. She walked by him and headed for the door, patting him on the shoulder and laughing darkly once more. “Oh, you just sit back and watch what I can do to run a wedge between you two.” 

His next actions occurred almost as an out of body experience. Before he knew it he was growling deep from his core and the fingers of his right hand wee wrapped around his twin’s neck, pushing and holding her against the wall with a resonating ‘thud’. Leaning close, his lips brushed her ear as his voice came out low and deadly sounding. “Let’s get this clear. If you do anything-anything at all, to with harm Sansa Stark I will have you so quickly humiliated you will never come back from this. Clear?” 

Cersei’s eyes had enough venom in them to take out a human sized horse as she nodded. Jaime let her go as if she were a bag of trash, and slunk out of the apartment. When the door clicked shut, he sighed and allowed the tension to ease in his shoulders. 

Jaime knew now he had to act quick, his twin wouldn’t let some threat stop her from doing what she wanted. He didn’t know where the venom came from towards his relationship with Sansa, but he wasn’t about to go and try to dissect it. No, he only needed to focus on securing Sansa Stark in his life before Cersei had a chance to let her hatred cause another rift. 


	9. Down on One Knee

Cersei’s intimidation tactic left Jaime with only one thing- resolve. He was determined as he watched his estranged twin walk out of his apartment to get that ring on Sansa’s finger and not rest until he watched her walk towards him down the aisle. That would be the only way to get Cersei to stop and finally butt out of their lives and their happiness. His father was right, he needed to act quick. And with the blessings of families from both sides he could finally put the plan into motion.

They had all but refused to go to their spot by the river since they reunited. That spot had seemed sacred almost, untouched by the events since their high school breakup. It seemed like the perfect place, and a quick text her way had set the plan for their date to be there, meeting at dusk and spending the night by the river just like they were teenagers again.

Jaime showed up early, the ring in his jeans pocket safely-even though he still caught himself patting his hand there just to be sure. He left the car parked on the road, and walked the distance to the clearing, a blanket in one arm that he laid down on the riverbank. The summer air was warm, and a breeze would keep them cool as they sat. He stood next to the blanket, hands in his jean pockets as he watched the river lazily flow down its path, letting his thoughts wander to what he would say when he finally got to the moment to present Sansa with his proposal.

He was lost in inner conflict about just what to say, when he finally sighed and shook his head. Sansa wouldn’t want some prepared speech. She would want something from his heart, something that came from his inner feelings. That would be the way to go.

He was so lost in his mind, that he didn’t see her approach until she was standing beside him, arms crossed in front of herself as she watched him in amusement. “Think any harder and you might start a forest fire there, Lannister.”  
Startling slightly at her voice, he turned to her with a big grin on his face, reaching out his arms to envelope her in a hug that she gladly reciprocated. They stayed like that for a few moments before pulling away, Jaime motioning down to the blanket as they both took seats. Sansa flashed him a look before taking in the surroundings as she leaned into his side.

“God. This place still looks the same. Not a thing out of place in four years.”

Jaime nodded, taking a moment to look around the clearing. “Almost like we’re stepping back into time.”

Sansa chuckled softly, eyebrows rising up as she scoffed lightly. “Wouldn’t it be nice to pretend like the last four years never happened?”

He was going to take the bait and run with it.

“Never happened?”

Sansa nodded, running a hand through her still blond hair. God, how he wished it was red again. “Yeah. I mean, I love the experience that college gave me and the internship. But what would have happened if we had continued on? Ramsey would never have been a thing, certainly.”

His blood still boiled at the thought of that man, and his jaw clenched as he bit back the anger. _Not the time. Not the place,_ his mind soothed.

Turning to her slightly, he shrugged softly. “What if we could turn back time? Pick up where we left off?”

Sansa laughed at that, head thrown back as she laughed to the heavens before turning to look at him, taking in his serious expression.

“Jaime, we aren’t eighteen anymore, that’s why. We have four years of separation and everything that happened to both of us. We are different people then we were then.”

He took a moment to consider that. _Okay, feelings, you’re up_.  
He looked to the river again as he shrugged both shoulders. “Not the same people, sure. But we’re better. The experiences we’ve had in four years has done nothing but improve us. We know things better now, we’re more grown up and prepared for the world. We are ready to face what life throws at us and we’ll only do better together.”

He caught tears glistening behind her blue eyes as she turned to look at the river and Jaime took that moment to stand up.

“We definitely are different people.” It was a whisper, but Jaime still caught it come from Sansa. He nodded.  
“I’m no longer the trouble making party guy. But you, you’re still the sophisticated and intelligent girl you were back in high school.”

Sansa was still turned to look at the river, but he saw her lips curve up into a smile. Slowly, he knelt down to one knee, and saw Sansa turn to look at him, a look of confusion crossing her face.

“You said you wish we could turn back time. I say why not?” He reached into his pocket, pulling out the box and opening it before turning it towards Sansa. Her face went from confusion to shock, mouth falling open as a gasp escaped that was muffled as her hand flew to cover her lips. “Let’s pick up where we left off. The plan was to get married and spend forever together. Be my wife. Let’s use the four years we had apart as time to learn and grow, time we needed to become better people for each other. Marry me, Sansa, and lets show King’s Landing what a love story really is.”

The tears that were just glistening in her eyes were now falling in streams down her face. Somewhere in his speech she had stood up, and now she was pulling him up to standing, nodding her head and laughing.

“Yes, you foolish man. Yes I’ll marry you. Of course I will.”

Jaime’s face erupted into a large smile that nearly split his face in two as she grabbed his face and pulled him down to capture his lips in a searing kiss that he returned with just enough passion. When they finally pulled apart, she pulled away just enough to look down at the ring, finally taking in the detail before she looked back to him.“Your mother’s ring?”

He should have known she would recognize it. The ring had been practically famous when it was on Joanna Lannister’s hand. A symbol of the devotion her and her husband had.

“My father gave it to me when I told him my plan for it. He gave us his blessing now that we’re adults. Your parents did too.” He spoke as he pulled the ring from the box, reaching with his free hand to grasp her left hand so that he could slip the band on the correct finger. A grin broke out in his face once more at seeing it there. It just felt right. “Looks like it belongs there.”

Sansa smiled brightly, looking down at the ring and taking in just what it meant for Tywin Lannister to let it go onto the next person. Everyone knew how devoted he had been to his wife, and his relationship with his children were what suffered most at her death. For him to give the ring up, meant that he truly approves of Jaime marrying her. The thought made new tears stream down her cheeks as she looked back at Jaime.  
“We’re finally having our forever?”

Jaime nodded as he pulled her into another hug, kissing the top of her head before resting his chin there and nodding. “I told you we would be each other’s forever. I think that should start now.”

He felt Sansa nod as her arms curled around him and he felt her palms rest against his back. “Perfect time to start forever.”

Sansa insisted on going the next day to both of their families first thing to share the news. They started with the Stark family, and Sansa called everyone for a meeting. That’s how Jaime found himself holding Sansa close while sitting across from all the Stark siblings and Jon, nearly feeling Sansa’s excitement come seeking out of her pores. 

When everyone was finally seated, Sansa looked up to him, but a he could do was smile and nod as he motioned for her to start it off. He watched as a big grin broke across her face and she turned to her family, flashing her left hand out so everyone could see the ring. There was a collection of gasps as Sansa finally spoke. 

“Four years later, but Jaime and I are getting _married.” _

_“About time!” _Arya’s voice shot out over the excited noise of the family, which earned a laugh from Jaime. Sansa’s parents both went over to Sansa, enveloping her in a warm hug as they told her how happy they were. Robb and Jon both went over to Jaime, patting him on the shoulder. “Took ya long enough.” 

He has to laugh at that as he nodded. “I had to make sure that everything was the same between us. That we could move forward.” 

Robb shook his head. “We could have told you that a month ago.” 

Jaime rolled his eyes. Looks like everyone had them in the bag long before he did. 

The celebration with Sansa’s family lasted all morning, and Jaime was overjoyed to see everyone so accepting of the idea of them getting married. Sansa’s mother even pulled her aside, asking when they could start planning everything. That earned a look cast to Jaime, who merely shrugged as she turned back to her mother and said the words that made his heart soar. _As soon as possible. _

He knew their next stop wasn’t going to be as celebratory. As they sat across from his father in their study, Tywin was all business just as he had been the day he asked for his mother’s ring, but Jaime caught a slight turning up of one corner of his mouth as he looked at the two across from him. 

“Father, I asked Sansa to marry me last night and she accepted.” 

Tywin nodded silently, looking to Sansa and then to him. “Well done, Jaime. Well done.” 

Jaime could only nod, before Sansa straighteners slightly and looked down to the ring on her hand. “I can’t thank you enough, Mr Lannister, for letting Jaime use his mother’s ring. I know how much it means to you and I promise I’ll never let anything happen to it.” 

Tywin looked down to the engagement ring momentarily, a brief look of fondness crossing his eyes before his gaze steeled again and he met Sansa’s gaze. “It’s Tywin, Sansa. We’re to be family now. And you can promise me one thing in return for the ring.” Sansa nodded immediately. “Never take it off. For anything.” 

Sansa steeled herself against that, shoulders squaring as she narrowed her gaze, her voice taking on a stubborn firmness. “I never intend to, Tywin.” 

And, for the second time that day, Jaime’s heart soared. 


	10. Real Nice Life

Summer flew by in a whirlwind, and news of their engagement spread like wildfire, and Jaime constantly had people throughout King’s Landing stopping to offer congratulations or to give advice for wedding planning. He could only chuckle softly at each idea tossed his way. They already had their idea of the perfect wedding, and it wasn’t going to be the large and ornate affair that the people of King’s Landing were expecting. No, Sansa had requested a small and private affair in their spot by the river, surrounded by their family and closest friends.

Jaime has pushed for a wedding as soon as possible, to which Sansa merely laughed him off. No, fall would be the best time, right around Thanksgiving when the leaves were all golden and the air was crisp. He couldn’t deny her when she got that dreamy look in her eye as her mind threw up a picture of it. So, instead of planning a shotgun wedding, they planned it at a leisurely pace throughout the summer months. Their other time was spent moving Sansa into his apartment, an idea that Sansa readily agreed to as Jaime argued that, if they were to be married, they should at least live together before the wedding.

It was a whole new level of heaven on earth to wake up beside her every morning, his arms circled protectively around her as he held her in their sleep, and waking up to a sea of long hair that was spread out across the pillows. The sight made him thank his lucky stars every morning that this was what his life had led to. Jaime had urged her to grow her hair back out to red, telling her how he wished to see her hair as red as possible as she walked down the aisle. He was happy to see that now, a month away from their wedding, it was completely red again.

He reached a hand out gently to play with a strand of it, twisting it gently in his fingers as she slept, her back to him as she had turned sometime in her sleep. It was a Saturday, and there was no big rush to wake up and get out of bed, instead they lounged lazily in bed, only getting up when something beckoned them. As he played with the fiery lock, she woke with a long inhale of breath as she stretched and turned to look at him. Tired blue eyes immediately lit up as they met his, and he couldn’t help but smile as he moved to kiss her.

“Well, good morning sleepy head.” He teased her gently as she moved to rest her head on his chest, hand coming up as her fingers lightly danced a pattern in the skin of his chest. Her engagement ring caught the light of the morning and he smiled even more as his hand continued to play with her hair, fingers carding through the long locks.

They stayed silent for a long while, just content to be in each other’s company, before her hand stilled and she turned to catch his gaze again, bottom lip caught between her lips. He frowned at the hesitant look on her face, moving to cup her cheek gently.

“Sansa, what’s on your mind?”

She sat up then, hand still placed on his chest as she looked down at him. “Jaime, I have something I need to tell you.”

He sat up at that, nodding and urging her to continue. Her mouth opened to begin right as pounding on the front door interrupted them. Jaime inwardly cursed whatever friend of theirs had the worst timing known to man as Sansa got up, grabbing her robe and wrapping it around herself as she mumbled that she would get it and padded out of the bedroom, bare feet hitting softly against the hardwood floors.

He heard the front door open and Sansa’s mumbled voice as shoed feet entered the apartment and the very familiar sound filtered through the walls into the bedroom. Decidedly not a friend, he thought as the voice of Cersei hit his ears. He shot up quickly, getting dressed so he was somewhat presentable and quickly entered the living room in time to see Sansa standing next to the door, arms crossed over her chest and looking worriedly over at his twin. Jaime followed her gaze to see Cersei sitting down on the couch, a young blonde haired infant in her arms.

“What are you doing here, Cersei.” It wasn’t a question, but a warning sent through gritted teeth. Cersei seemed to ignore it, looking down to the sleeping child in her arms before casting a glance over to Sansa and then to Jaime.

“I came to offer my congratulations, brother, on your soon to happen wedding. Although, I am quite disappointed in the lack of an invitation.”

“That’s because you _specifically_ weren’t invited.” Sansa’s voice sounded bored as she spoke, leaning against the wall next to the door, arms still crossed across her chest. Her facial expression backed her voice up, like she was just tired of this constant battle that was Cersei. She probably was, Jaime knew he was. Cersei simply pouted, daring to look upset at that information. Fake, his mind screamed at him. He knew his twin and knew she was probably gleeful inside.

Jaime mimicked Sansa’s stance, leaning up against the opposite wall with his arm crossed. Although he didn’t look bored. He was just angry.

“Why did you really come here, Cersei? Enough with the theatrics.”

His twin scoffed at that before she stood again. The sleeping baby squirmed slightly at the movement, but didn’t wake. She moved one hand to gently rub it across the baby’s head, sweeping the dusting of blonde hair around slightly before she turned to Sansa.

“I was merely shocked when I heard that you had accepted to marry my dear brother. I was almost positive that you had heard the truth by then.”

Jaime’s heart skipped a beat as his stomach twisted. What was she up to? Certainly no fucking good. Sansa, in turn, just looked confused, pushing off of the wall to stand up straight.

“The truth? What do you mean?”

Cersei laughed a light, jingling laugh, as she looked down to her baby. “Why, my son, Joffrey is hardly a Baratheon at all. Only in name. Why do you think he has this lovely blonde hair. Surely Robert’s dark hair would pass on to his children.”

_No, no, no. No freaking way._ His mind screamed as she spoke. He knew where she was going with this. Sansa moved to speak, but Cersei continued, glancing at Jaime with a sparkle of mischief in her eye.

“No, Joffrey Baratheon is the product of my relationship with Jaime, sweet Sansa. Do you really think he spent four years waiting for you? No. He came crawling to me as soon as you left. When I got married, he was only too eager to help me provide Robert with children, because Robert is too drunk half the time to follow through with anything. But conveniently too drunk to remember that nothing happened between us. Funny how that works.”

Jaime’s mind was screaming and railing at him to do something, but he could only stare daggers at Cersei as he fumed. Sansa was the first to move, silently grabbing the door and slamming it open, motioned with a sweeping hand at it. “You need to leave, Cersei. Now.”

He noted that her voice was filled with fury, but at who exactly he couldn’t identify. Sansa refuses to look at either of them, eyes trained to the wall behind Cersei. His twin merely laughed jovially and sauntered out, sleeping child still silent in her arms. When she was out, Sansa slammed the door before moving back to the bedroom. Ripping her robe off she began to dress in clothes, and Jaime quickly moved behind her.

“Sansa you have to know that that was all lies.” He tried to reach a hand out to her, but she recoiled away from him, hands flying up as she spun away.

“I don’t know _what_ I know, Jaime!” She yelled the words to him as she moved to grab a bag and put a few things inside. Jaime stood frozen in place, unable to move in shock.

“Sansa, it’s all lies. Nothing like that ever happened.”

Sansa shook her head as she finished packing a bag, finally looking to him as she slung it over her shoulder. “Probably. Maybe.” She sighed in frustration. “I just need to think.”

She moved past him, stopping at his side as her hands moved towards the ring on her finger slowly. That’s when he moved, hands flying to cover hers as his head shook violently. “Please. Sansa, don’t take that off. That means we’re done. We’re not done. I’m not letting her ruin us again.”

Sansa looked up to him, blue eyes shining with tears as she finally nodded. He let her go and she continued to walk towards the door. He could only stand in stunned silence as he watched her pause at the door, back turned to him as she spoke in a choked voice.

“I’m going to stay with Robb for a day or two. I just need to think.“ 

He mumbled an agreement and watched as she opened the door, stopping once again as her hand moved up and down to pat the doorknob. He saw her bottom lip go in between her teeth as she inhaled sharply, turning to look at him once more. 

“I was going to tell you something and I think you should still know.” 

He waited. 

“I’m pregnant, Jaime.” 

His world shattered even more as she turned and shut the door on him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 🤭


	11. Meet In Between

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t leave you guys hanging.

Sunday morning came and Jaime woke for the first time in months alone in his apartment. The idea made his skin itch with anxiety and anger as he tried to busy himself, internally telling himself that he had to give Sansa space to figure out everything herself. But his mind only kept telling him to go after her.

It was almost noontime when he finally acquiesced the voice in his mind. Grabbing his cell phone he pulled up Robb’s number, pacing back and forth in his kitchen as the line rang.

“Jaime?” Robb’s voice finally picked up, voice somewhat quiet as though he were trying to keep his voice down.

“How is she, Robb?” He didn’t have time for small talk. He heard Robb sigh, and could picture him running a hand over his face.

“Not good. She told me everything. About the baby, congratulations by the way, and what Cersei tried to claim.”

“You know that was a lie that she made up. It’s not true. You know there was no one in the four years. It’s only been Sansa.” His voice was panicked, wanting to avoid any anger by one of his friends.

“Jaime, I know. I was there.” Robb’s voice was calm, trying to soothe Jaime through the phone. “Her hormones are amped up because of the baby. Not to mention she’s still got residual mental issues from Ramsay.”

“Ramsay?” He spat the name out, disgust forming in the pit of his stomach. Leave it to that urchin to ruin everything from a prison cell five hours away.

“He made a whole relationship with her that was built on lies as to who he was and what kind of person he was. He never made any indication to her that he was abusive. And then all of the sudden, when she was closest, his truth came out.”

There was a pause as Robb let Jaime sort that in his head. The pieces slowly clicked into place before Robb continued.

“She’s just afraid that the same thing is happening, just with a different outcome.”

A pained groan escaped Jaime as he punched the air in front of him. “That will never happen Robb. I’ve only told the truth to her. I don’t know what I can do to prove that to her. To ease her mind.”

A short pause, followed by the sound of movement on Robb’s end.

“Come over and talk to her. Maybe with my help we can help her see the light.”

Jaime nodded as though Robb could see him. “I’m on my way.”

  
He made it to Robb’s house as quickly as he could, knocking on the door within ten minutes of hanging the phone up. Robb answered and ushered him inside, leading him to the living room where he took a seat on the couch and watched as Robb left to fetch Sansa. He heard her before he saw her, he voice sending quiet protests to the meeting.

_“Robb, I just need to clear my head. I need to be alone.”_

_“Sansa, we need to clear this up, and not let Cersei win.”_

It fell silent again as the two siblings appeared in the living room, Robb taking a seat beside Jaime and Sansa moving to sit in an armchair. Jaime took a moment to take her in, her face pale and swollen as though she had recently stopped crying. Her arms were crossed over her chest and her baggy sweatshirt bunched underneath her arms.

It stayed silent as everyone took each other in, and Robb was the first to break the silence. “Sansa, Jaime wasn’t lying. He spent those four years alone. He never even talked to Cersei since that night she forced your relationship to end.”

Her blue eyes stared at Robb, but she remained still and quiet.

“Tyrion had to tell me she was even getting married. What was my reply, Robb?”

“I believe something along the lines of _‘she can be marrying the president, for all I care, still doesn’t mean I’ll be there_.’”

Jaime looked to Sansa, a pleading look on his face.

“I haven’t made any motion to contact her. For anything. She could die tomorrow and I wouldn’t care. What she did in high school just proved the level of insanity and heartlessness she has. I don’t know what I need to do to prove it but I will do anything.”

Sansa stayed silent for a long moment, blue eyes trained on the floor at her feet before they moved to lock onto Robb. Robb just silently nodded, a nonverbal conversation happening between the two of them. Finally, Sansa locked onto him, hands running across the tops of her thighs.

“Do a DNA test. That would finally put a stop to her. She can’t fight with science.”

Jaime didn’t even take a moment to hesitate, nodding right away. He moved to speak, but Sansa put a hand up.

“I want to go with you when you go there Jaime. I want to know why she’s doing this.”

“I want to know too, Sansa.”

  
They decided to meet the next day, after Jaime had time to acquire the correct things needed. Jaime picked her up at Robb’s, and they both silently headed to the Baratheon home. Robert was away for the week traveling, which guaranteed that Cersei would be there alone.

A maid answered the door, and they followed her in to the sitting area before the maid went to get Cersei. His twin came a few moments later, thankfully empty handed, and smiled slyly at Jaime.

“Well, brother, isn’t this a surprise.”

He glared at her, wasting no time in getting to the point as she flashed the package for the DNA test in his hand. Cersei’s face fell at the sight of it.

“Here for business, Cersei. We want a DNA test of your child. To prove once and for all that you’re lying and we have never had a relationship.” Jaime stalked towards her, eyes narrowing as she backed up away from him. “And when this proves who the father is, good old Mayor Robert is getting a hand delivered copy of it so he knows just how treacherous his dear trophy wife is. Hope this game was fun. Because I told you I would ruin you if you tried anything else.”

Cersei dared to laugh as she raised her hands in innocence, looking over to Sansa with a frantic look on her face.

“Sansa, dear, you must know that was a joke. I mere taunting between soon to be sister in laws. It meant nothing.”

Sansa rushed over to her, and Jaime had to act quick in order to grab her and pull her close to him. Sansa looked to him quickly and he shook his head. “Temper and anger will get us nowhere, Sansa. It will just give her fuel.”

He saw her take a breath before she looked to Cersei again.

“Why? Why are you doing all of this to hurt us, Cersei? What’s the point?” Her voice just sounded tired as she questioned his twin. Cersei shrugged, uninterested.

“Jaime was my partner in crime. We were a duo. Then you came along and he suddenly lost interest in the fun life we had. I hoped if you two separated it would be over and he would be back to being my sidekick. But then he wanted nothing to do with me and then you came back and he went back to you in a heartbeat. It’s not fair. We’re twins. We need to be by each other’s sides.”

Jaime shook his head. “No, Cersei. What you did was meddling. And that’s unforgivable. I need to live my life how I want to live it and how it makes me happy. I can’t live life thinking that you’re going to come around and change whatever you don’t like. And Sansa is not going anywhere.”

Sansa’s eyes shot to him, and he sent her a pleading look as she silently nodded, answering his unasked question. Slowly he reached out to place his hand on her stomach, eye training onto Cersei as she realized what that meant. “Especially now with a child on the way.”

Cersei’s face seemed to turn red with anger, and Jaime could swear that he saw her whole body shake as her hands clenched into tight fists. He didn’t give her a moment to talk.

“I want you out of our lives Cersei. And if it takes a DNA test to do it, then so be it. But I want you to admit right here and now that all of this was a lie.”

She was silent for a long moment that had Jaime holding his breath.

“Fine. It was a lie. No test needed. Jaime isn’t the father.”

“Then who is?” Sansa never missed a trick.

Cersei almost looked like she was going to refuse to say anything, until a male voice appeared behind her. “I am.”

Jaime and Sansa’s eyes widened at the sight of Lancel Lannister. Cersei spun around quickly, letting out a small shriek as Lancel walked in, the small form of Joffrey in his arms who was crying and screaming.

“Lancel? Seriously. _Cousins_?” Sansa seemed disgusted.

Lancel shot Cersei a look of apology as he handed her Joffrey. “He was crying. I felt like they should know too. It’s not fair what you’re doing to them.”

He didn’t say anything more as he moved to leave, shooting Jaime and Sansa a look as he moved past them. Jaime looked to Sansa, giving her arm a soft squeeze to get her attention. “Sansa, I think we should go.”

Sansa nodded mutely as she moved to follow him. As they headed to the door, Cersei’s voice rang out behind them. “Don’t tell anyone about this Jaime!”

Jaime swung around, finger pointing towards her. “You keep yourself out of our lives, and I’ll keep myself out of yours.”

He didn’t wait for a response as he gently aimed Sansa out of the house. Once they were in his car, he turned to her. “Sansa, can we talk?”

She looked straight ahead to the road, before nodding and glancing his way. “Hot Pie’s? I’m starving.”

He nodded and smiled softly as he drove in the direction of Hot Pie’s.

It was quiet at Hot Pie’s, the lunch time crowd usually pretty tame, which gave them a quiet atmosphere to have a simple talk. Sansa immediately ordered a burger, which Jaime also agreed to. When they were alone, Sansa ran a hand through her hair and sighed, shooting him an apologetic look. 

“I’m sorry, Jaime. It’s not that I doubted you. I just had so much running through my head that I needed to sort out.” 

Jaime simply nodded, reaching out to grab her hand and smiling softly. “I get it. Robb explained about your fears following Ramsay. I get it, Sansa.” 

He saw the tears building up in her eyes and he squeezed her hand softly in support. “It’s hard to tell myself that he was a different person. That that’s not going to happen again. I fell for it once, whose to say I wouldn’t fall for it again?” 

“I’m _not, nor will I ever be _a Ramsay Bolton, Sansa. I waited four years for you. I’m still the same guy that was here when you left King’s Landing four years ago.” 

A few tears slipped down her face but she still chuckled softly. “Well, not the same guy. You’re much more grown up.” 

He had to laugh at that. At least she was cracking jokes. “Yeah, no more wild and rebellious teenager.” 

She met his eyes, and flipped her hand around so their fingers could join. “I like the Jaime you are now. I wouldn’t change him for the world.” 

“Good, because you’re stuck with me. I’m not letting you or that baby go too far out of my sight anytime soon. I’m in this for the long haul Sansa. I love you, and only you.” 

She smiled warmly at that. “I love you too, Lannister.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not too much more to go. Maybe a couple more chapters? I love how this story was received so well. It was really just an idea that fell into my head that I ran with!


	12. Say Yes to Me

Cersei, thankfully, remained silent as Jaime’s threat to expose her secrets hung over her like Damocles’ sword. It allowed Sansa and Jaime to settle into a comfort in their lives and finally celebrate the idea of a child growing within Sansa’s belly. She had informed him that she was six weeks along, which meant that by the time their wedding came along in a month’s time, she would have a small bump for everyone to see. The idea made Jaime ecstatic and he made it his mission to check the progress everyday for any changes, a fact that Sansa could only laugh off.

They kept the news between them for a good week, just reveling in the happiness that had settled over their lives. But when it cane time to tell all of their families and friends, everyone was just as happy as they were. The Stark parents were over the moon at the idea of a grandchild, Arya went right to looking up when the soonest was that she could teach him or her to start fighting. Tywin even allowed a large smile to break through his stone cold façade at the news.

When it finally came time for their wedding in mid November, Jaime found he was unable to sleep the night before. The idea that this moment, an event that was five years in the making, was finally here left him with excitement settling low in his stomach. Sansa Stark was finally becoming Sansa Lannister, wife of Jaime Lannister. And no one could come between them.

They had set up the spot by the river perfect to what Sansa envisioned, chairs set up for the small group of people that were invited, with an arbor that was adorned with a mixture of red and yellow roses along with winter roses. The trees of the forest were the perfect shade of autumn colors, a mix of browns, greens, oranges and reds. The river even seemed to know what was happening today as it slowly and lazily followed its stream down its path.

Jaime had come to the area early already dressed in his suit and tie. He wasn’t too surprised to see his father there already, helping Catelyn Stark to oversee the preparations for the day. He moved through the collection of people that began to filter through, taking time to thank everyone for being there and accept their congratulations. He watched as Robb and Jon both helped everyone find their seats, and took his spot underneath the arbor as the time finally came to get into position.

Bronn took his spot along side him, giving him a firm pat on the shoulder as he mumbled something about it being ‘about fucking time’, which only made Jaime laugh as the nerves settled in his stomach at the support of his friend. He took one last look at everyone who was assembled. Catelyn sitting next to Robb and Talisa, Bran, Rickon, and Jon. Jon being just as much one of the Stark children after the death of his parents when he was a baby. Tywin who sent him a firm nod of approval as he caught his gaze and Tyrion beside him who could only wink and smirk. Gendry was seated near all of the Starks, looking somewhat out of place. He knew Gendry wasn’t quite one to attend the Stark family gatherings, and could appreciate that he made sure to attend this. Arya took her spot on the side of the arbor that would be for Sansa, and Jaime couldn’t help but notice how she was actual in a dress and small heels, half wondering what exactly Sansa had to do to pull that off.

The priest was set up in his spot at the head of the gathering, an older man who was white haired yet still stood tall and had a smile at the occasion. Jaime reaches over and made sure to take the time to thank him, to which the man could only shake off.

When finally everyone was in their places and conversation had died down, Jaime straightened himself out, clasping his hands in front of him as he looked over to the band as they started to play the music that would cue Sansa’s arrival. He saw everyone turn to look behind them just as Ned Stark emerged into the clearing, Sansa on his arm. He couldn’t help the large smile that broke across his face. She kept her long red hair down and free flowing, except for a few braids at the crown on her head that were braided and pulled to the back of her head. The dress was beautiful, and the sight of it brought tears to Jaime’s eyes.

It was vintage, akin to a 1920s flapper style. The dress hugged all of her curves, with a large v-neck, flowing down to a small train. He noticed as she walked closer to him the necklace he had given her so long ago resting against her chest, the jeweled lion’s head glinting in the autumn sunlight. She didn’t hold a bouquet, which only brought more attention to the small bump of her stomach that was hugged by the material. She was almost three months pregnant, and the bump, though small, was hard to miss. The sight brought an even larger smile across his face.

As she finally reached him, Jaime looked to Ned who could only smile warmly as he replaced his arm with Jaime’s and found his seat alongside his wife. Looking to Sansa, he could see the tears forming in her own eyes, and chuckled softly.

“We’re finally here, Sansa. Too late to turn back now.”

Sansa shook her head and laughed. “You couldn’t pay me any amount of money for me to turn away, Lannister.”

His smile turned to a grin as they both turned to the priest in time for him to start the vows.

“We stand here in the sight of gods and men to witness the union of man and wife: one flesh, one heart, one soul, now and forever.”

Jaime looked to Sansa, one tear breaking free from his eyes as she met his gaze, mouthing an ‘I love you’ to him. The priest moved to tie their hands together with a simple grey ribbon, which they both gazed down upon before meeting each other’s gaze again as the man continued.

“Let it be known that Sansa Stark and Jaime Lannister are one heart, one flesh, one soul. Cursed be he who would seek to tear them asunder.”

He caught the subtle rolling of Sansa’s eyes, her mind probably putting Cersei’s name there just as his did. The idea brought a smirk to his lips.

“In the sight of the Seven, I hereby seal these two souls, binding them as one for eternity. Look upon one another and say the words.”

He tightened his fingers around Sansa, his free hand moving up to lightly grasp her cheek which she leaned into. Together they spoke, reciting the names of the Gods and saying their part of the vows. As they both finished at the same time, a devilish smirk graced his face as he spoke.

“With this kiss, I pledge my love.” As he spoke he was leaning closer to her, and Sansa closed the gap to join their lips in a deep and passionate kiss. He could hear the small group of people standing to clap and cheer, and Jaime pulled away to rest his forehead against hers as the priest silently reached to remove the ribbon from their hands. With his newly freed hand he reached between them to lightly cusp his hand around the small bump that was their child.   
“Five years later and we finally have our forever.”

“It’s going to be quite the story to share with our children, got to admit that, Lannister.”

He pulled away from her to raise an eyebrow.

“Children? More than one? How many are you thinking, _Lannister_?” He threw her nickname for him back to her, overjoyed that he could finally, legally, call her a Lannister. Sansa shrugged nonchalantly, head going to one side.

“Oh, maybe four or five. Got to keep your trouble causing hands busy.”

He could only laugh as he kissed her one more time.

“Five kids? It _will_ be fun trying for five kids, if I do say so myself.” 

Her responding giggle was all he needed. _Yes, _it was a long five years to get to this point. But worth every damn moment. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those interested, this is what I picture her dress looking like:   
pinterest.com/pin/327918416596548856/


	13. Greatest Love Story

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is! The final chapter! Thank you all SO much for your support! I can’t believe how well received this was!

Joanna Catelyn Lannister was born in the middle of the night at the end of May. Jaime stayed by Sansa’s side the whole time as she labored, and was the one to bring the baby girl over to Sansa after she was cleaned up. Her blue eyes stayed blue as she grew older, and her hair was the exact replica of Jaime’s, golden and bright like a true lion’s mane.

Everyone was besotted with her straight from go, Ned and Catelyn readily accepted any chance to babysit her, although she seemed to have a natural affection to Tywin over anyone else that wasn’t her parents. The man took the affection easily, finding an attachment as grandfather that stunned Jaime. And often he came home from work to see Tywin present in their home with a sleeping Joanna by his side.

She was five years old now, and quite the little spitfire. She kept everyone on their toes and in anticipation of what she was going to end up in next. Although, she had everyone wrapped around her finger.

Jaime enjoyed the quiet moments with Sansa. When it was just the two of them. She had taken a leave of absence earlier in the year from work at the knowledge that she was pregnant again. Twins this time, the doctors said. She was nearing her time for the two new babies to enter the world, and Jaime found that she was often tired and weary at the end of the day. They made sure to sap every quiet moment, feeling it vital to the health of not only Sansa but the two rambunctious children within her.

This particular moment found them both sitting on the couch, Jaime having just gotten home from the police department. Sansa’s head was resting on Jaime’s shoulder as he rested his hands on her large stomach, feeling the kicks and squirms of the babies. Two boys, the doctors had told them.

“Think we have two soccer players coming soon enough.” Sansa’s voice was laced with irritation as she winced at a particular sharp kick to the side. Jaime’s hand traveled to the spot and rubbed it soothingly, head moving down to rest against her stomach as he ‘shushed’ quietly.

“Now, now. You two need to quiet it down in there. Hold the parties until you’re at least in high school, they’re a lot more fun then, anyways.”

Sansa chuckled as her fingers played with his hair. “No party advice from you, Mister. Your parties in high school were always filled with trouble.”

She sat up again to gently peck at her lips. “But look at how I turned out. Parties and trouble helped to shape me.”

“Or a nice, intelligent girl who put you on the straight and narrow.”

Jaime shrugged, tossing his head to the side. “You could argue that, too.”

Jaime had been promoted to chief of police shortly after Joanna had turned two. The youngest in the history of King’s Landing and he intended to be one of the best chiefs the city had ever seen. Three years in and he was doing a pretty decent job at that goal.

Jaime day up straight again and Sansa returned to resting her head on his shoulder, humming softly at the quiet as Jaime peeked a look at his phone.   
“Tywin should have Joanna home within the hour.”

Tywin has set up a habit of taking Joanna every Friday night. Initially so that they would still be able to join the gang at Hot Pie’s, but when tiredness from pregnancy took over, it became more so that they could enjoy a quiet night alone.

As if on cue the door opened and in walked Tywin Lannister, still adorned in a suit and tie but within a sniffling and crying Joanna on his hip, tears streaming down into the expensive material of his jacket. The sight brought some amusement to Jaime, never having bet that he would ever see anything of the sort. He bit back the laughter as he got up and headed over, grabbing onto little Joanna.

“Little Jo, what did mean old Papa Tywin do tonight?”

Tywin sent a quick glare before reaching out to stroke the young girl’s back. “Mufasa dies in the Lion King.” He answered the reasoning behind the girl’s tears, eyebrows rising up as his face showed mock offense. He caught Sansa biting back laughter as she struggled to get up. Tywin merely put a hand up to stop her as he pulled Jaime to sit beside her on the couch.

“Oh, Joanna. You’ve seen the Lion King before!”

The little girl cried a few more sobs before sitting up and looking to her mother, blue eyes big and sad as she nodded her head. “It’s still so sad, mommy. Why does he have to die?”

She laughs softly, reaching out to rub the girl’s back as she places a kiss to the girl’s head. “How about Daddy brings you to bed and we can have a nice long talk about it tomorrow if you’re still worried about it, hmm?” Her voice was filled with the concern only a mother could put into their voice and Joanna nodded against Jaime’s shoulder as she reached to wipe her face.

Jaime took the hint and rose to bring Joanna to her room, his voice carrying as he talked to her. Sansa absently ribbed her stomach as she looked over to catch Tywin watching her movement. Smiling softly, she motioned to her stomach as she adjusted her position.

“Hope that two head soccer stars will do well for the Lannister name. These two don’t quit with their practicing of kicking.”

Tywin chuckled softly as he nodded. “Anything they do will be perfect, Sansa. I made my mistakes with my kids by putting too many expectations on them. I’m not putting any expectations on my grandchildren.”

She could only nod at that as she fought to keep tears at bay. She never quite expected that Tywin Lannister would be the doting grandfather. But here he was.

Jaime walked back in then, moving to sit beside Sansa and pulling her close, hand automatically going to stroke her stomach. He looked to her and then to Tywin, silently asking if he missed anything. Tywin merely motioned to Sansa, lips turning up into a smirk. “Your wife believes that the next two Lannister babies will be pro soccer players.”

Jaime chuckled and nodded. “Either that or wrestlers. Could be fighting in there.” The second half of his words were said directly to Sansa, who nodded and rolled her eyes.

“I only hope they don’t carry this fighting on to when they’re walking and talking here.”

Tywin shook his head softly, and his next words left Jaime stunned into silence.

“Joanna used to complain about Jaime and Cersei kicking when she was pregnant. They ended up close as could be until you came and showed Jaime what life was supposed to be like.”

He had never shared anything about his mother prior to what Jaime could remember. He latched I tot hat information and stored it close to his heart. He cast his eyes to Sansa’s and smiled softly. Sansa grinned and looked over to Tywin.

“Thank you, Tywin, for being as supportive as you are over our relationship and our family.”

Tywin shook a hand at her and shook his head. “Sansa, you’re the type of woman I wanted Jaime to find. And I can tell you know that you’ll get what you wanted back in high school.” Jaime and Sansa both turned curious gazes to him. “You’ll without a doubt be the greatest love story this town has ever seen. I think you already are.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keep your eyes peeled. I got a few ideas floating around for more Jaimsa stories!


End file.
